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The promise of the digital age was simple: click to “buy” and “own” endless music, books, movies, and services, forever. Convenience ruled, and consumers rushed in.

The twist? You don’t own any of it.

That movie on Apple, that book on Amazon, that audiobook on Audible, that track on ITunes , none are truly yours. They’re licensed, not sold. And licenses can vanish overnight, erasing libraries built over years and hundreds of dollars with a single corporate dispute.

Purchase Is an Ownership Illusion

On August 2 Amazon was slapped with a class action lawsuit accusing Prime Video of tricking customers into thinking “buy” means ownership, when it’s only a license.

Lisa Reingold paid $17.79 for Nickelodeon’s Bella and the Bulldogs Volume 4, believing it was no different than owning a DVD. But buried in Amazon’s Terms of Use, the transaction only granted a “non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited license.” 

If Amazon’s rights change or a title is removed, that “purchase” can disappear from the buyer’s library without refund.

The suit said Amazon broke California’s new Digital Property Rights Transparency Law, which bans using “buy” unless it’s clear the purchase is just a license. Plaintiffs argue Amazon’s tiny fine-print disclaimer doesn’t cut it.

A Pattern of Discontent and Disappearing Content

This isn’t the first time Amazon has pulled the plug. In 2009, the company deleted George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm from customers’ Kindles after a rights dispute. More recently, gamers saw entire digital worlds vanish when Ubisoft shut down its racing game The Crew in 2023, sparking the grassroots “Stop Killing Games” movement and a lawsuit.

Audible, too, has long frustrated users who discover that their “purchases” evaporate once their subscriptions lapse, unless credits were used to lock in a title. A recent Audible lawsuit is trying to address conditional ownership.

Apple is blunt in its iTunes terms: Digital content may become unavailable “at any time,” and Apple has no liability. 

Locked Files, Locked Libraries

This is not just about legal fine print. The files themselves are locked inside controlled access systems that determine user access to their paid-for purchases. Digital Rights Management (DRM) ensures Kindle, Audible, and iTunes purchases can only be opened in company-approved apps.

Account dependency means your entire library is tied to your login. Lose access to your account — through a ban, billing error, or even death — and your purchases vanish. Software lock-in prevents easy transfer. Apple’s Books can’t be read on Kindle; (disappearing) Audible audiobooks won’t play easily outside Audible’s ecosystem.

Server validation can terminate your access. Some digital titles periodically “phone home” to company servers; if those servers shut down, so does your content access.

Even if you’ve downloaded your file, it’s encrypted and useless without corporate permission. This is another layer of fragility: Not only can your license be revoked, but the very system you use to open your “purchases” can be cut off.

What Is Piracy When Ownership Is a Scam 

In today’s digital world, purchases can vanish in a boardroom with a license change. Shelves aren’t wiped by hackers but by the very companies that sold them. If downloading for free is piracy, what do you call corporations taking what you paid for?

Licenses and DRM cost as much as hardgoods but let companies block resales, revoke or alter access, and lock you inside their ecosystem. The fallout? Consumers own nothing, culture depends on corporate servers, and prices stay high while access can vanish.

Why This Matters

Digital convenience has erased permanence. When your library is just a controlled server somewhere, you are always one contract dispute or revoked login away from losing it all.

Remember: The “Buy” button doesn’t mean ownership. It means temporary access at corporate discretion, locked inside systems you don’t control.

What you can do:

• Buy physical media.
• Read the fine print “license” means imaginary ownership.
• Back transparency laws in your state.
• Spread purchases across platforms, avoid lock-in.
• Digital conversion.

And ask your legislator: If revoking access to your digital content purchases isn’t legal piracy, what is it?

Editor Picks

Stop Websites From Installing Software Without Approval

From Cornell University: “Websites you visit can download and install software without your knowledge or approval. This is called a drive-by download. The objective is usually to install malware, which may: record what you type and what sites you visit, search your computer for stored passwords, open your computer to remote control.” 

The Complete Guide to Digital Rights Management

The author writes, “The question ‘What is Digital Rights Management?’ has become essential for anyone working with content creation, distribution, or protection. Digital Rights Management (DRM) goes beyond simply securing files; it’s about safeguarding the integrity and value of digital assets while providing a seamless user experience.”

If Buying Isn’t Owning, Piracy Isn’t Stealing

The author writes, “20 years ago, I got in a (friendly) public spat with Chris Anderson, who was then the editor in chief of Wired. I’d publicly noted my disappointment with glowing Wired reviews of DRM-encumbered digital devices, prompting Anderson to call me unrealistic for expecting the magazine to condemn gadgets for their DRM.”

Do You Own Your Digital Library? California Says You Have a Right to Know

From Lewis Rice: “California’s Assembly Bill (AB 2426), which took effect January 1, 2025, requires companies that sell or advertise licenses to digital goods (e.g., movies, videos, e-books, apps, games) in California to explicitly disclose when consumers are purchasing a revocable license, rather than full ownership, for such digital goods.”

The Evolving Landscape of Digital Goods Ownership: California’s Digital Marketplace Law 

The author writes, “The distinction between owning and licensing digital goods has become blurred in an era increasingly dominated by digital transactions. While traditionally consumers purchasing physical items such as books and video games held unrestricted ownership, the digital marketplace operates under different rules, where ‘buying’ often means acquiring a license with embedded usage restrictions. Frequently unnoticed by the average consumer, the distinction between owning and licensing has led to significant legal and consumer protection concerns. California’s AB 2426 seeks to address these challenges by enhancing transparency in the sale and licensing of digital goods.”

Digital Ownership and the End of Physical Media

From Jacobin: “The cost of the decline of physical media is higher than one might think. Transitioning from tangible items to intangible digital copies housed in the cloud has robbed consumers of whatever ownership they might once have claimed over media. The change might seem subtle, even irrelevant, to most of us, at least on first glance. However, its implications are anything but trivial.”